[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 130 (Tuesday, September 15, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2272-E2273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MR. WILEY HILBURN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RODNEY ALEXANDER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 15, 2009

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise 
today to commend Mr. Wiley Hilburn, an esteemed editor, respected 
mentor and prolific columnist.
   On September 1, the Louisiana Tech University news bureau chief, 
journalism teacher and department head, will retire after 41 years of 
dedication and service. Hilburn's legacy is not only embedded in his 
written work, but translated into the countless careers of past 
students.
   The Tech Talk, Louisiana Tech's weekly newspaper, was not always the 
student voice of the university, but merely a mouthpiece for the 
administration. In 1968, Tech President F.J. Taylor, hired Hilburn to 
liberate the school's newspaper, a period consumed with controversy and 
fueled by opinion. Successfully safeguarding the student body's First 
Amendment right during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement 
renders recognition.
   Hilburn will retire from one of Louisiana's most acclaimed 
journalism schools. During his 41-year-tenure, Hilburn served under 
Taylor and current Tech President Dan Reneau. Throughout the past 40 
years, students have learned how to report responsibly and objectively.
   Although he will no longer steer the student voice of Tech, his 
opinionated outlook of reason will continue in his columns, printed 
weekly in The Shreveport Times and The News-Star, of Monroe.
   The Ouachita River touches most parishes in North Louisiana; Hilburn 
touches the hearts of all of his readers in North Louisiana every 
Sunday. During his four decades of teaching and mentoring students, 
Hilburn gave `fragments' of his life to every journalism student who 
walked through Keeney Hall.
   I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. Wiley Hilburn, 
a teacher, writer and personal friend.

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